Fantastic plastic
FLW Outdoors donation helps place PVC fish attractors in Beaver Lake; new wristband program adds nearly $2,000 to cause
“Build it, and they will come.” This familiar saying could be the catch phrase for an ongoing fishery-enhancement project – paid for through FLW Outdoors donations – that has placed scores of fish attractors in northwest Arkansas’ Beaver Lake.
The attractors, being spread across the great expanse of Beaver Lake’s 28,000 acres, comprise a three-dimensional grid of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, pipes. After being submerged for a time, the structures become coated with algae and biofilm, forming what could be considered underwater hotels for baitfish. The first link of the Beaver Lake food chain is now in place.
Room and board
Once the fish attractors have accumulated enough aquatic growth, the environment is right to provide not only habitat for baitfish, but also forage. And guess who’s coming to dinner?
Minnows and other small baitfish come for the food and shelter; then a variety of game-fish species – including crappies, sunfish, catfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and spotted bass – come for the baitfish; finally, of course, the anglers come in search of a fine day of fishing, if not a freshly caught meal.
“It’s a haven for the small fish, which, in turn, bring in the larger fish that are in search of an easy meal,” said Ron Moore, district fisheries biologist for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. “I’ve caught fish around them, myself – many times.”
Sound structure
Moore, who will oversee the project along with fellow fisheries biologist Steven Brown, said there are several advantages to building the attractors with PVC pipes and the industrial-strength plastic zip ties that hold them together.
“(PVC pipe) is easy to work with; it’s lightweight; it’s flexible, so we can form it in various configurations,” Moore said. “And it’s essentially permanent, so to speak.”
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission used to build similar structures out of wooden pallets, some of which were also paid for through past FLW Outdoors donations. Thousands of discarded Christmas trees have also been submerged in Beaver Lake to provide fish habitat, but Moore said these materials cannot come close to matching the longevity or durability of the structures they are now creating with PVC, a thermoplastic resin.
The attractors are built by laying PVC pipes across one another in multiple layers, which are fastened together with the zip ties.
The cost of quality
One disadvantage of PVC pipe, Moore said, is that it is relatively pricey, and the cost of the material has increased in recent years. Much of the expense associated with building and distributing the fish attractors has been paid for with donations from FLW Outdoors.
These donations, made through the FishAmerica Foundation and totaling more than $60,000 since 1998, are given in conjunction with the FLW Tour’s Wal-Mart Open, held annually on Beaver Lake near Rogers, Ark. As in past years, FLW Outdoors donated $5,000 to the enhancement project after this year’s mid-April event.
Additional money was raised this year for Beaver Lake efforts through a new conservation program. The fundraiser makes wristbands available for sale at each FLW Tour event, with the wristbands signifying support for fisheries restoration and conservation and proceeds going directly to those causes.
Charlie Evans, president and CEO of FLW Outdoors, said, “We are thrilled with the support FLW Tour anglers and fans alike have shown for the new FLW Outdoors, Castrol and FishAmerica Foundation conservation wristband program. The program was introduced last month and already has generated an additional $3,000 for local conservation efforts above our standard $5,000 donation, including an additional $1,700 in Rogers.”
About 70 PVC attractors have been placed in Beaver Lake in recent years, including about 20 that were deposited in the lower end of the lake last year. Moore said this year’s donation should pay for an additional 15 to 20 structures, to be placed around the middle of the lake. Also included in the total are 10 giant PVC attractors that the commission placed in a boat-free zone to augment fishing success near a handicapped-accessible fishing area.
As it has in the past, FLW Outdoors will continue to donate $5,000 at each of its seven Wal-Mart FLW Tour events in 2005 as well as at a variety of its other tournaments.
In 2000, FLW Outdoors announced its partnership with the FishAmerica Foundation, the conservation arm of the American Sportfishing Association. Since then, FLW Outdoors has directly donated more than $250,000 and helped to generate more than $1 million for local conservation projects.